Murphy – After starting the season 7-0, the Lady Bulldogs’ soccer team lost their last two games to Swain County and Highlands.
To kick off the week of two big Smoky Mountain Conference games, Murphy lost to Swain 1-0 on March 25. This was their first loss of the season and the first time they had been held scoreless since May 15, 2023, when the Lady Dogs lost to South Davidson in the first round of the 1A playoffs last season.
On Thursday, Murphy suffered its second straight loss of the season to Highlands in the most physical game so far this season.
Highlands got the scoring going early with a goal less than two minutes into the match. Three minutes later, the Lady Dogs got the equalizer when Tina Bui buried the ball in the back of the net. After a throw in, she was in the right place at the right time and found herself in front of the net in perfect position to level the match.
A minute later, Highlands took advantage of a penalty kick and took a 2-1 lead. After three goals in the first six minutes of the match, they played out the rest of the first half, going back and forth with both teams showcasing their physical play.
In the second half, Highlands’ defense shut down Murphy by breaking up passes and not letting Murphy get too close to the goal. With 23:49 remaining in the second half, Highlands got their third goal of the match after a long shot went over the goalkeeper. After more back and forth play in the midfield, Highlands got their fourth goal of the match on another penalty kick to lock in a 4-1 win.
Murphy head coach Kim Brownlee said that physicality was a big factor in the game against Highlands.
“I’m not going to take away from Highlands. Highlands came in here very physical. We had not had a game this physical before. They pushed us around pretty good,” she said.
“We tried to respond the best we could. We got caught flat-footed right from the get-go on a through ball. We haven’t had any through balls like that all year. They hadn’t seen anything like it. We readjusted and didn’t give them that anymore.
“They are just a physical program, and I think we had a really tough time against that kind of physicality. We have a pretty young team to be honest, you could kind of see that with the size differential mattered tonight, the speed differential mattered.
“But I think our girls fought valiantly and I’m proud of how hard they played. There’s no question that the heart was there, it just came down to good fundamentals and good passing,” she added.
The Lady Dogs have a 7-2 overall record. In the Smoky Mountain Conference, they have a 4-2 record and are in third place.
The game against Highlands was their last conference matchup until after spring break. Murphy will head to Cherokee to take on the Lady Braves on Monday, April 15. Before then, they will host Franklin on Thursday in their last match before spring break, with first pitch set for 6 p.m.